Old-fashioned San Pedro Christmas tradition features Santa and carolers

There's no telling how residents in San Pedro will react when as many as 100 carolers with jingle bells and songbooks spontaneously appear in front of their homes.

In years past, many have thrown open the front door with a smile. One man served up some specialty Croatian Christmas treats. And one elderly woman burst into tears.

It all plays out again Friday at the seventh annual Miracle on 37th Street, an event that harkens back to the old-fashioned pleasures of a simple Christmas: neighborhood caroling, free eggnog, a visit by Santa Claus, and even a little bit of snow, courtesy of two rooftop snow machines at The Corner Store, which hosts the event each year.

"The first year there were 40 of us and we had so much fun," said Peggy Lindquist, who with her husband owns The Corner Store at 1118 W. 37th St.

From that first event in 2006 it grew every year, she said, peaking with nearly 600 guests and 100 of those joining in the caroling.

A popular neighborhood hangout offering an array of unusual candies, sodas and also now fresh-cooked meals, The Corner Store - just north of Paseo del Mar and east of Weymouth - was a natural venue for the event, Lindquist said.

Festivities begin about 5:30 p.m. with the arrival of Santa on a wheeled sleigh coming down the street. By then, there's usually already a line of kids waiting to see him, Lindquist said, with parents taking photos.

The event wraps up by around 7:30 p.m. but Lindquist said sometimes smaller groups of attendees will break off and continue caroling on their own.

Many bring children and dogs along for the fun.

"It's such a Corner Store kind of thing," she said. "We want everything like it used to be - simple, family values and being together. It's kind of our way of giving back to the community."

The caroling - a seasonal practice that was once commonplace throughout the United States but has become somewhat rare, at least in metropolitan Los Angeles - lasts for about an hour, with the general route going two blocks in all directions around the store.

"Some people open the door with arms wide open, they just love it," Lindquist said. "Other people don't open the door but we stand outside and carol anyway. ... Different people react in different ways. ... But it brings a lot of smiles to a lot of people."

A limited number of songbooks are passed out for the mobile concert that includes such standards as "Jingle Bells," "Silent Night," "Winter Wonderland," "Deck the Halls" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."